Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc.
This week I made it a point to go see where the council’s programs were located throughout Milwaukee. I felt it was important since my final project covers the council as a whole; Loyola, as well as the other programs provided by the organization. Other programs provided by the council include “Adult Learning and Workforce Development,” “Guadalupe Head Start,” “Housing,” and a Social Services department.
Student Assignments
This week the students were given their first assignment; righting a brief summery on an image they selected depicting their “favorite” something. The assignment was described in our syllabus, “Find one picture of your favorite singer or group, favorite movie or television show, and an image that illustrates an activity they like to do (original or found). Most of the students in our group picked their favorite musicians. I also completed the same assignment to share with the group. We finished by discussed the future of our group projects, presenting concept ideas.
"Group Project Summary-Video" Link... (low quality)
"Group Project Summary-Video" Link... (high quality)
Artist Statement
Over the course of the fall semester our Film 150 class discussed American diversity is terms of media representation. Using the information presented in our course materials, we took what we were learning and applied it to Service Learning with students from the Loyola Academy High School, on the South Side of Milwaukee. Through our efforts and experiences in class we were asked to piece together a blog, representing our building understanding of American diversity, in collaboration with our Service Learning efforts. Our blogs were to be filled with media rich content, artist’s statements, service learning journals, and other course assignments.
As far as completion concerning the Film 150 class I found the blogging process of the project surprisingly fun. I had no problem piecing together our projects, keeping up on journal response, and providing a media-rich, well-organized, page. On the other hand, what I did have trouble with was clearly collaborating with my small (project) group. Material and schedules were extremely unorganized, not too much you could never be certain who was going, or who would show up. I also find myself in situations where I couldn’t find a ride, and no ride meant a no-show.
At the same time, I appreciate the opportunity to explore a part of Milwaukee I rarely find myself in. The service learning experience really opened my eyes to the Milwaukee school system. Although Loyola is necessarily part of MPS, the urban educational environment was something I had zero experience with. I think it was a real eye-opener; the vast difference in terms of economic struggle here in Milwaukee is simply ridiculous. With a bit more structure to the Film 150 Service Learning portion of the course it could make for a priceless experience, for UWM and high school student alike.
The video link at the top of the post combines images of our groups central focus with the Loyola Students on the Cesar Chavez mural, created by the organization known as “True Skool,” and songs by the student’s favorite artists, based on their responses from our first collaborative assignment. My intentions were to create a short video that would summarize our experiences with Service Learning and the Film 150 classroom.
Service Learning Rut
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to our groups meeting with the Loyola students this week. Instead, I spent a little time continuing my research on the Milwaukee Council for the Spanish Speaking. I also finished uploading some images and other material to PantherFile regarding our final project. To be completely honest this week was just a rut in our timeline for completing our final project, which means I’ll have to work twice as hard after the break. At any rate, I feel we have a great start and things in general are on track.
Film 150: Service Learning Photobucket...
Final Project Group Blog...
Photobucket/Media Upload
This week my goal was to take a step back and regroup before discussing/picking our group topic. For my hours this week I set up a Photobucket account, posted all my media (as well as on Pantherfile), organized my blog pages, posted my student’s first assignments with appropriate editing, and finished a number of other site related assignments to begin our final project. I also narrowed down a list with my topics of interest for the final project to discuss/decide on with my group. I’ll be meeting with the students later this week to discuss our final project, Photobucket, and a few media editing techniques that will be necessary to complete future initiatives regarding the project. Specifically the students will be given a brief tutorial on making slideshows using Photobucket. I’m excited to collaborate with the students, as it seems this will be the first time they’ll really have a chance to open up, and include their opinions on a larger scale concerning the service learning experience. I’m also excited to make a final decision on our topic so we can get started, and begin investigating for a successful finish.
South Side Tour
This afternoon I went on a tour of some of the south side locations mentioned by my students in class. I started my photographic journey on what could be considered the “borderlines” of the south side, crossing over the 16th street bridge. The main highlights included an assortment of parks, neighborhoods, and of course “El Reys.” One thing that caught me off guard, for one reason or another, was the other prominent ethnicities represented in the area. For instance, in the El Rey shopping center there was also a specialty store concerning products of Mong origins/decent. I also was unaware of the previous Polish history in the area. As well as I feel I represented what the students told me I wish there was more for them to be excited about for me to investigate. I would really like to get a greater understanding of what the students do in their free time, what their options are, and how more can be created.
Artist Statement
To capture an essence of the Loyola student’s high school and surrounding community I used a digital Canon Rebel XT. Based on discussion with the students, we selected areas of the school they felt personal connections with, as well as examples from a historical perspective on the buildings. My students seemed to have very little to say about their community and destinations for recreation. The majority said they just hung out at home or another friend’s house. I had the pleasure of getting to see where one of my students lived, but other than that their enthusiasm regarding their community remained disappointingly, or maybe sympathetically, vague. Just as interesting as being provided more insight on what they would consider “important destination,” may be the lack of examples expressed. One thing was for sure; if you were skipping school there was a 99% chance you were at “El Reys.”
As I patiently waited while the students struggled to come up with examples, I started thinking about how the lack of recreational possibilities ties into their community. Where is pride brought to a community when there’s “nothing” to take pride in, or “nothing” to do? Where does a child of the south side find positive activity and structure regarding their free time? Why is the only place of excitement, or location indicated with a smile, a small strip mall with nothing but grocery and cell phone stores, where students retreat to skip school? It’s these types of questions from which I pull beneficial meaning concerning our course. It’s these types of experiences that build my understanding of segregation and economic struggles when it comes to the dozens of individual Milwaukee communities.
My essay was constructed in a documentary format. I tried to provide a students perspective of the school, as well as a historical background concerning the buildings origins as a church. I also covered “El Reys” extensively, as it was one of the very few examples provided concerning the community. My goal was to make the ratio of pictures with El Reys slightly outweigh the images of the school. By providing insight on where they retreat from school I was hoping to show the student’s perception of priority and the lack of motivation and recreational joy accessible by the community.
